The 1960s File Feature
I Will Always Think About You
The Story Behind I Will Always Think About You by The New Colony Six Step into 1968, a year of upheaval and transformation, when American pop was caught betw…
01 The Story
The Story Behind "I Will Always Think About You" by The New Colony Six
Step into 1968, a year of upheaval and transformation, when American pop was caught between the jangle of garage rock and the lush sophistication of orchestral balladry. Radios crackled with everything from psychedelic experiments to tender love songs, and regional bands across the country were chasing national breakthroughs. Out of Chicago came The New Colony Six, a group that had cut its teeth on the city's vibrant garage-rock scene before pivoting toward a softer, more polished pop sound that would give them their biggest moment.
A Chicago Band Evolving Its Sound
The New Colony Six had started out as a punchy garage-rock outfit, but by the late 1960s they were refining their style toward melodic, emotionally direct pop. This single represented that evolution, trading raw energy for craft and feeling. The song became the band's biggest national hit, the track that lifted them beyond their Midwestern stronghold and onto the radar of listeners across the country. It marked the high point of their commercial reach.
A Tender Ballad of Its Time
The song is a wistful, heartfelt ballad, built on a gentle melody and an aching sense of longing that fit perfectly with the era's appetite for romantic pop. The arrangement is warm and unhurried, letting the vocal carry the emotional weight as it dwells on memory and devotion. It is the kind of song that sounds like a slow dance at the end of the night, the lights low and the feelings running high. The craftsmanship reflects a band that had matured into confident songwriters.
A Strong Climb Up the Hot 100
The single performed impressively on the national chart, far outpacing the band's earlier efforts. It debuted at number 95 on March 30, 1968, then made a striking leap upward, jumping into the forties within a couple of weeks as radio embraced it. The song continued to climb steadily through the spring. It reached its peak of number 22 during the week of June 1, 1968, the highest position the band would ever achieve. The single spent thirteen weeks on the chart, a healthy run that cemented it as their defining hit and a memorable entry in the era's pop landscape.
The Sound of Transition
The song arrived at a fascinating crossroads in the band's development, the moment when they fully embraced melodic pop over their garage-rock roots. This shift toward polished balladry reflected a broader trend among 1960s bands, many of whom softened their sound to chase wider audiences as the decade progressed. For The New Colony Six, the gamble paid off handsomely, delivering their biggest national success. The track demonstrates how a regional band could evolve its identity and find a larger audience without losing its emotional sincerity. It captures a group in the act of maturing, trading youthful aggression for craft and feeling, and finding that the trade-off rewarded them more than they could have anticipated.
A Lasting Mark for a Regional Favorite
Though The New Colony Six never became national superstars, this song secured their place in the story of 1960s pop and remains beloved among fans of the period. It stands as a reminder of the depth of talent in regional scenes like Chicago's, where bands honed their craft and occasionally broke through to national success. For listeners who cherish the tender, melodic side of late-1960s music, the track endures as a small treasure of the era, the kind of song that rewards anyone digging beyond the decade's biggest names to find its quieter gems.
Press Play and Slow Down
Cue it up and let the gentle melody wash over you, a warm reminder of an era when pop ballads wore their hearts openly. It is a sweet, sincere love song from a band that found its finest moment in tenderness, and it still casts a gentle spell on anyone willing to slow down and listen.
"I Will Always Think About You" — The New Colony Six's singular moment on the 1960s charts.
02 Song Meaning
The Meaning of "I Will Always Think About You" by The New Colony Six
This is a tender ballad about enduring love and the impossibility of letting go of someone who has left your life. The title says it plainly: no matter the distance or the time that passes, the memory of this person remains. It is a song about devotion that outlasts a relationship, the kind of feeling that lingers long after goodbye.
A Promise of Lasting Memory
At its core the song is a vow to keep someone alive in one's thoughts forever. The central theme is undying remembrance of a lost love, a pledge that the connection will never fully fade. That promise gives the song its bittersweet warmth, equal parts comfort and ache.
The Pain of Separation
Running beneath the devotion is the sorrow of being apart from the one you love. The lyrics dwell on the heartache of separation, capturing the hollow feeling of missing someone who is no longer near. The longing is gentle rather than bitter, which makes it all the more affecting.
Holding On Through Memory
The song suggests that even when a relationship ends, the feelings can persist as cherished memory. It finds a kind of solace in remembering rather than forgetting, treating the act of holding on as a form of love in itself. That perspective turns loss into something tender rather than purely painful.
Why It Resonated
Listeners in 1968 responded to the song's sincere emotional honesty, its willingness to dwell openly in longing. Its universal theme of remembering a lost love struck a deep chord, as nearly everyone has carried the memory of someone they could not keep. The gentle melody made that feeling easy to inhabit.
The Comfort of Devotion
For all its sadness, the song offers a strange comfort in the constancy of its narrator's feelings. The unwavering loyalty at its heart becomes a source of solace, suggesting that love is not diminished by distance or time. There is something reassuring in the idea that someone might carry your memory faithfully even after you are gone from their life. That steadfastness gives the song a warmth that balances its underlying ache, turning what could be pure heartbreak into something gentler and more hopeful.
A Timeless Sentiment
In the end the song speaks to the enduring nature of love and memory, the way certain people stay with us no matter what. It accepts the pain of parting while honoring the bond that remains. That quiet, faithful devotion is what gives the song its timeless emotional pull, the sense that some feelings are simply too deep to fade with the passing of time.
→ More from The New Colony Six
View all The New Colony Six hits →
→ More from the 1960s File
View all 1960s hits →
Keep digging